person · P0067

Yonah ben Amitai יונה בן אמתי

Yonah ben Amitai appears both in Kings and in the book bearing his name. Kings remembers him as a northern prophet whose oracle of restored borders was fulfilled under Jeroboam II. The Book of Yonah instead centers on his flight from a mission to Nineveh, his rescue from the sea, the city's repentance, and God's lesson in compassion.

I. Who

Hebrew: יונה בן אמתי
Also known as: Jonah son of Amittai
Era: bible

II. When

Traditional: c. 3100–3160 AM, during the northern kingdom before its fall
Academic: The historical prophet is placed in the 8th century BCE under Jeroboam II; the composition date of the Book of Jonah is debated and may be later.
Lifespan (traditional): ≈60 years
Precision: approximate

V. How do we know

Claim	Evidence	Confidence	Sources
Melachim II identifies Yonah ben Amitai, from Gath-hepher, as the prophet whose word foretold the restoration of Israel's border under Jeroboam son of Joash. Directly stated in the cited source.	biblical	★★★★★	Melachim II 14:23–25
When commanded to go to Nineveh, Yonah fled toward Tarshish from Joppa and boarded a ship. Directly stated in the cited source.	biblical	★★★★★	Yonah 1:1–3
After the sailors cast Yonah into the sea, a great fish swallowed him; he prayed from within it and was brought back onto dry land. Directly stated in the cited source.	biblical	★★★★★	Yonah 1:15–2:11
Nineveh responded to Yonah's warning with fasting and repentance, and God withheld the announced disaster; the final chapter rebukes Yonah through the plant and stresses divine concern for the city's inhabitants. Directly stated in the cited source.	biblical	★★★★★	Yonah 3:4–10 Yonah 4:1–11
Modern scholarship commonly distinguishes the 8th-century prophet named in Melachim II from the later literary composition of the Book of Yonah; proposed dates for the book vary, so its date should not be used as the prophet's lifespan. This is a scholarly literary-historical distinction; the exact composition date remains debated.	reconstruction	★★★☆☆	Encyclopedia of Religion, 'Jonah'
After entering Nineveh, Yonah later left the city and built himself a shelter east of it. The text does not narrate his subsequent travels or death.	biblical	★★★★★	Yonah 3:3–4 Yonah 4:5
There are competing grave traditions: a Jewish tradition documented by medieval travelers places his tomb at Mashhad (identified with Gath-hepher) in the Galilee, while a prominent shrine at Nabi Yunus in Mosul was also revered as Yonah's tomb. Neither grave identification is archaeologically demonstrable; the Nabi Yunus shrine was destroyed by ISIS in 2014. The UNESCO URL in the research input blocks automated access and was replaced with an overview of the shrine.	tradition	★★☆☆☆	National Center for the Development of Holy Places, 'Tomb of the Prophet Jonah' Nabi Yunus shrine, Mosul (UNESCO Tentative List, 'Old City of Mosul')
The traditional placement c. 3100–3160 AM, during the northern kingdom before its fall, is a schematic Mesorah Atlas reconstruction from his placement under Jeroboam son of Joash in Kings; the cited sources do not state an absolute AM range. The cited sources establish relative chronology or regnal duration; they do not state the absolute AM range.	tradition reconstruction	★☆☆☆☆	Melachim II 14:23–25